Gaming News

Can Netflix Make Awesome AAA Games? – Unlocked 591

Longtime Halo senior developer Joseph Staten, the subject of last week's Unlocked, has announced where he's going next: Netflix! We discuss what this means for Netflix's gaming efforts before turning our attention to the newly announced departure of another longtime Halo developer, Frank O'Connor. Plus: Diablo 4's community interactions continue to impress, and more! Subscribe on any of your favorite podcast feeds, to our YouTube channel, or grab an MP3 of this week's episode. For more awesome content, check out our interview with Todd Howard, who answered all of our Starfield questions after the big reveal at the Xbox Showcase: For more next-gen coverage, make sure to check out our Xbox Series X review, our Xbox Series S review...

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IGN Summer of Gaming 2023 Returns This June

IGN's Summer of Gaming is returning for its fourth year this June, bringing with it even more trailers and news for the biggest games of 2023 and beyond. As in previous years, IGN Summer of Gaming 2023 will be a multi-day event filled with tons of content featuring your favorite games and developers. IGN will be also be partnering with developers to share exclusive reveals, interviews and more! We're happy to announce that we will once again be carrying and covering Geoff Keighley's Summer Game Fest as part of our Summer of Gaming programming. Check out IGN on June 8 for the stream and all of our analysis. You can also look forward to the Starfield Direct and coverage of Xbox's Showcase, which will be taking place in Los Angeles...

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The Mageseeker: A League of Legends Story Review

Magic is everywhere if you know where to look, and you need look no further than Digital Sun’s The Mageseeker. It’s a worthy addition to the growing list of League of Legends spinoffs, this time a pixel-art action RPG puts you in the role of Sylas The Unshackled as he escapes from prison to seek his revenge against those that locked him away since his childhood. It’s faithful to the lore of League of Legends and expands on it in exciting new ways, showing us even more of the spell-stealing rebel. I came away from my time with The Mageseeker enjoying the journey but wishing it had taken a few different paths along the way. Following in the footsteps of other League of Legends spinoffs like Ruined King and Hextech Mayhem, The Mageseeker...

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Nintendo Indie World Showcase April 2023: Everything Announced

Nintendo's latest Indie World Showcase just wrapped up, providing release dates for some long-delayed games along with a handful of surprise releases in the indie version of the company's popular Nintendo Direct format. Among them, we finally got our first glimpse of Blasphemous 2, Oxenfree II got a release date, and lots more. Here's the full list of announcements and trailers from today's Nintendo Indie World Showcase stream. Mineko's Night Market gets a release date after eight years of development Meowza Games' long-in-development finally received a release date as part of the Indie World Showcase's opening act. First announced way back in 2015, Mineko's Night Market turned heads with its beautiful watercolor graphics, focus on...

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Oxenfree 2: Lost Signals Is Finally on the Way With a July Release Date

Seven years after the original Oxenfree debuted its radio tuning, time looping coming-of-age story on PX and consoles, the sequel is at last upon us. During today's Nintendo Indie World showcase, we at last saw Oxenfree 2: Lost Signals get a release date of July 12. Oxenfree 2 follows a character who didn't appear in the original Oxenfree, Riley. Riley is an environmental researcher who returns to Camena after noticing strange radio transmissions, five years after the events of Oxenfree. While Riley wasn't part of Oxenfree's story, an update to the game in 2021 ties the two together, so we're likely to see plenty of references or even meet some of the original group of teens, now young adults. The new trailer shown today for Oxenfree...

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Resident Evil 4 Remake and PlayStation 5 Topped U.S. Sales Charts in March 2023

Resident Evil 4 Remake was the best selling game in the U.S. in March 2023, while the PlayStation 5 remained the best selling hardware. Revealed through the latest data from Circana (formerly NPD), Capcom's remaster of the classic horror game outperformed March's other new releases including MLB: The Show 23 and WWE 2K23. Both of these titles were also outperformed by last month's Hogwarts Legacy, which placed second overall in March but remains the best selling game of 2023 so far. MLB: The Show 23 placed third, followed by Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, The Last of Us: Part 1, FIFA 23, WWE 2K23, Elden Ring, Madden NFL 23, and Mario Kart 8. Video game hardware spending increased 10% year over year, with PS5's increased...

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Redfall: How the Worst Book-Signing Ever Led Dev Into a Vampire Apocalypse | IGN First

Devinder finally gets the camera turned on him to tell his story of how he ended up in the mess of Redfall in the final of four Redfall character profiles. It turns out for him, this was a "right place at the right time" sort of situation for him given his expertise with cryptics. Learn more about how Dev's kit can be used in the exclusive trailer above, and get even more on his backstory and details on his abilities below. Power 1: Arc Javelin – Throw a javelin into enemies or surfaces to create a lightning hazard that will zap nearby enemies. Power 2: Translocate – Toss out a translocation beacon you can teleport to by pressing the action button a second time. Allies can use the translocation terminal you leave behind to follow you...

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The Indie Developers Who Are Using AI to Make Living Cities, Tactics Machines, and More

City of Gangsters is a mafia game that simulates a city full of people interacting during a fictional 1920s Prohibition. The characters in City of Gangsters are supposed to react to the player in ways that appear to be organic and period-accurate – a feeling that strictly scripted interactions would never be able to encapsulate. So, like many developers over the years before him, SomaSim founder and CTO Rob Zubek turned to AI to make a realistic city. “We simulate a city populated by all sorts of characters, who have various relationships and histories with each other,” he explained. “And our AI system lets us find interesting relationships and act on them. For example, we can ask the system to find us people who should start a...

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Square Enix Triples Down on Blockchain With New Deal Even as Other Publishers Flee

While many gaming companies largely got the hint last year that gamers aren't keen on blockchain, NFTs, and all that web3 entails, Square Enix doesn't seem to have absorbed the message yet. And it's demonstrating this today via a partnership with web3 gaming platform Elixir, with the intent of "generating visibility and adoption of web3 games among traditional gamers." The official announcement is light on details as to what, exactly, these two companies will be doing together, calling this a "strategic partnership" intended to "drive mass adoption [of web3 gaming] during 2023." Elixir itself is a PC games distribution platform that puts web3 games and regular games side-by-side, with little to distinguish between them. Notably...

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Your Cheapest Way to Holiday on The Burning Shores, a Serious VR Game Sale, and More Aussie Deals!

Burning Shores, DLC to Horizon: Forbidden West, has dropped today. Is it amazing? Does it go for a considerable amount of hours? I've no bloody idea, to be honest. Review codes for it went out to media at 10 p.m. last night, so I'm still smashing through. Looks quite pretty. And seeing Lance again is a bittersweet kick in the guts. I'll give it that much. This Day in Gaming - Diddy Kong Racing DS (DS) launch, 2007. - Guitar Hero III (PC) launch, 2008. Table of Contents Nintendo Switch PC Xbox PlayStation Notable Sales for Nintendo Switch Expiring recent deals Back to top Purchase Cheaply for PC Expiring recent deals Back to top Exciting Offers for XO/XS Expiring recent deals Back to top Product Savings for PS4/PS5...

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What Is Mouse DPI and Why Does it Matter for Gaming?

Industry-leading DPI! Sub-micron precision! True 1-to-1 tracking! These are just some of the marketing claims you’ll see from our favorite gaming mice. Such buzzwords are often paired with incredibly high maximum figures which on modern mice can exceed 25,000 DPI. That sounds impressive, but DPI matters less than mouse makers would have you believe. What is DPI? DPI stands for "dots per inch” or “dots per linear inch,” and is used to measure the sensitivity of a computer mouse’s sensor. Alternative phrases such as CPI, or “counts per inch,” are used by some manufacturers. In either case, the DPI or CPI number describes how many pixels the cursor will move across the screen per inch of physical movement by the mouse. A higher DPI...

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Ubisoft Might Extend XDefiant Closed Beta If Servers Stabilize

Ubisoft may extend XDefiant’s closed beta if the game’s servers stabilize, according to Ubisoft San Francisco’s executive producer. XDefiant’s closed beta started on April 13, but it has been plagued with issues for several days such as progression not saving and players being shot around corners. Additionally, the PlayStation and Xbox versions had some delayed patches. Fortunately, the executive producer Mark Rubin said on Twitter, “Oh, and if all goes well and the servers finally gain some stability then I think we should look at extending the Beta but I have to see what that would mean for team.” The closed beta is scheduled to continue until April 23, but it seems possible that it will be extended due to the servers being down...

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Capcom Accidentally Removes Ray Tracing From Resident Evil 2 and 3 Remakes on PC

Capcom has revealed that ray tracing support will return to the PC versions of Resident Evil 2 Remake and Resident Evil 3 Remake in a future update after it was accidentally removed last week. “We're aware of an ongoing issue with the ray tracing option not appearing in the graphics menu and presets,” said the Resident Evil Twitter account (below), acknowledging the error. “We'll have this addressed in a future update and apologise for any inconvenience.” The issue came to light when PC players took to Steam and Reddit forums to vent their frustrations over the missing graphics options after an update was pushed out to Resident Evil 2 and 3 Remakes late last week. The option to turn on 3D audio support had also vanished from the...

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How AI Is Being Used to Create the Ultimate Choose Your Own Adventure Game

This feature is part of AI Week. For more stories, including How AI Could Doom Animation and comments from experts like Tim Sweeney, check out our hub. "You are standing in an open field west of a white house, with a boarded front door. There is a small mailbox here." Will you open the mailbox, or head for the house? The choice was yours in the opening scenario of Zork, a 1977 text-based adventure game that's one of the most famous examples of the genre. Choices are at the foundation of the text-based games. However, there are usually only a few possible paths to take based on how the creator has written the scenario. But what if your choice was truly limitless, because the story hadn't been written yet? That's the power of...

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Jagged Alliance 3 Is a Serious Tactics Game With a Tone That Doesn’t Match

Even as a big fan of tactics games, I missed out on 1999's Jagged Alliance 2, which is often talked about as a high point in the genre. So going into Jagged Alliance 3, the upcoming sequel landing almost a quarter century later, I wasn't too sure what to expect. What I found in the first several hours, though, is a rewarding, squad-based battlefield with tense resource management – and deliberately schlocky throwback humor that sometimes clashes with the tone of the gritty, grounded conflict that serves as its backdrop. The mission starts off pretty simple. You're the leader of a mercenary unit hired to drop into a hot zone in a fictionalized African country where the sitting government is in conflict with a paramilitary led by a...

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Dead Island 2 Review

Like an Orange County socialite, Dead Island 2’s great looks and seemingly ideal first impression belies a striking lack of imagination. On one hand, Dambuster Studios has delivered a charming and hilarious apocalyptic sequel to the 2011 original that’s littered with great one-liners and dismembered body parts in equal measure. But aside from its balls-to-the-wall silliness and considerable comedy chops, there just isn’t much to it that hasn’t been done better in a dozen other zombie-filled games since the original Dead Island came out more than a decade ago, including and especially Dying Light 1 and Dying Light 2 (which, notably, were made by Techland, the studio that created Dead Island). But even though it lacks originality, Dead...

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UK Daily Deals: Last Chance to Save Over £16 on Your Star Wars Jedi Survivor Preorder

This might be the absolute best Star Wars Jedi Survivor deal we see before release day on April 28, but you've only got the rest of the day to secure it (April 18). You can currently get 15% off select purchases from trusted retailers at eBay, and this includes the Star Wars Jedi Survivor listing at The Game Collection. Down to just £53.51 after using the promo code APRIL15 at checkout, you're saving a total of £16.49 on your preorder. This is an awesome deal on one of the most anticipated games of 2023, and well worth checking out before the promo code expires today. It's a big few weeks for games as well, as The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is also out on May 12; preorders are also down to £44.99 at Currys with code...

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Monster Hunter Now Is the Next Game from Pokemon GO Developer Niantic

Pokemon Go developer Niantic and Capcom have announced Monster Hunter Now, a real-world action RPG mobile game that is set to be released in September 2023 on iOS and Android devices that will allow you and your friends to take down iconic monsters like the Rathalos and Great Jagras on your next walk around the neighborhood. IGN and other members of the press were able to attend a hands-off presentation of Monster Hunter Now and the team made it very clear that they want to keep the best parts of Monster Hunter intact during the transition to the mobile space. Additionally, Monster Hunter Now is meant to be accessible to newcomers and veterans of the franchise alike. Some of these veterans and newcomers will be able to test that...

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Obsidian Director Recalls 'Dysfunction' Around Sega's Shelved Aliens RPG

Alien has a long history with shooters, but not so much with RPGs. Obsidian tried to change that in the 2000s with Aliens: Crucible, an early Onyx engine game published by Sega described as "Mass Effect but more terrifying." It was ultimately shelved with little explanation and subsequently forgotten until this past weekend, when Pentiment director Josh Sawyer talked about some of what he described as the "dysfunction" around the project. "I got to work on an Aliens RPG for SEGA from 2006-2009. Obsidian didn't have directors at that time, just leads who were all considered peers. It resulted in a lot of dysfunction when the leads didn't agree on how to do something," he explained. In the thread that followed, Sawyer said that...

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Aussie Deals: Litter Picks of Low Cost Clearance Cheapies, Steam Weeklong Deal Must-owns and More!

For reasons I can't discern, JB Hi-Fi is clearing stuff out cheaply today. Not going to lie to you, a lot of it is crap — things that deserve to rot in a bargain bin until the end of time. That being said, I've spotted some gems here too. Games whose only crime was being ordered in far too large an amount. Get 'em before they're gone. This Day in Gaming - Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap (PS4, XO) launch, 2017. - FFX/X-2 HD Remaster (NS) launch, 2019. Table of Contents Nintendo Switch PC Xbox PlayStation Notable Sales for Nintendo Switch Expiring recent deals Back to top Purchase Cheaply for PC Expiring recent deals Back to top Exciting Offers for XO/XS Expiring recent deals Back to top Product Savings for PS4/PS5...

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Longtime Halo Developer Frank O'Connor's Departure Confirmed by Microsoft

Frank O'Connor is the latest longtime Halo developer to depart the series, with Xbox confirming to Axios in a statement that the longtime franchise director has departed after two decades with the series. "We thank Frank for his numerous contributions to the Halo franchise and wish him well going forward," Microsoft said in a statement. Rumors of O'Connor's departure began when fans noted a Linkedin update showing that he was no longer with the company. He began as a content manager for Bungie in late 2003, where he wrote the Bungie Weekly Update. He joined Microsoft Studios in 2008, which allowed him to stay with the franchise even after Bungie split. He was a familiar figure among Halo fans, appearing in Halo 4: Forward Unto...

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Former Star Wars Battlefront 3 Dev Claims It Was '99 Percent' Done, but the History Is Complicated

"I feel like it's been long enough now to come out and say Star Wars Battlefront III was gonnae [sic] be legit incredible and the fact it got cancelled 2 yards from the finish line is an absolute crime," former Star Wars Battlefront 3 developer Michael Barclay tweeted over the weekend. Barclay was referring to Free Radical's Star Wars Battlefront 3, which was in development until it was canceled in 2008. His statement came in response to a simple question posed at developers: "Alright #gamedev folks, what's your 'one that got away?' It can be an IP you wanted to work on, a studio you wanted to work for, anything of the sort." Barclay, who now works as a lead designer at Naughty Dog, shared his own story and added, "Gamers don't know...

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Diablo 4: 'No Plans' for Map Overlay at Launch as Blizzard's RPG Goes Gold

Diablo 4 has gone gold, but there are currently no plans for a quality-of-life feature that's been a series staple. On Twitter, the official Diablo account confirmed that the game has gone gold ahead of its June 6 release date. However, it seems the launch of Diablo 4 won't include a fan-favorite feature that makes exploring more convenient: An overlay map. When asked on Twitter if a TAB overlay map will eventually get added to Diablo 4, Diablo general manager Rod Fergusson simply replied, "No plans at the moment." Overlay maps allow players to look at the map while still maintaining control of their character. They're perfect for a top-down multiplayer game like Diablo where you'll likely want to examine your surroundings without...

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Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions Announced, Testing Signups Now Open

Warner Bros. Games has announced a "standalone Quidditch experience" called Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions, and playtest signups are now open. According to the game's FAQ page, Quidditch Champions is will allow players to partake in the Wizarding World's iconic sport and "other broomstick adventures alongside friends in a competitive, multiplayer setting." Playing the game requires constant internet connection, hence Warner Bros. Games is holding a limited playtest for people to try out the new Harry Potter title. During the playtest, you can either play the game by yourself or you can team up with friends and other people online. You'll also be able to create and customize your character to your liking. Quidditch Champions has...

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Stardew Valley Developer Promises New Content in Patch 1.6

Stardew Valley creator Eric Barone, also known as ConcernedApe, has promised he'll deliver new content in the Version 1.6 update. The developer announced on Twitter Monday saying he's working on the new update, and that he's pausing development on Haunted Chocolatier in order to do so. The update will mostly come with features that allow modders to mod elements of Stardew Valley more easily. The game will also receive other new content, but the package will be smaller than it was in the Version 1.5 update. One of the fans replied to ConcernedApe's tweet asking about the type of other new content that will be added with the Version 1.6 patch, specifically whether the characters will have more dialogue. He confirmed that "the new...

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Wuthering Waves Brings Blistering Action to a Dreamlike, Violent World?

Wuthering Waves is a multi-platform free-to-play action RPG by Kuro Game. Wuthering Waves emphasizes freedom and exploration in its fast-paced Player-versus-Enemy (PvE) combat. If you're a fan of free-to-play games that offer deep gameplay mechanics, you should keep an eye on Wuthering Waves' upcoming closed beta. A Story of Catastrophe and Recovery (and Catastrophe) The world of Wuthering Waves was bombarded by an apocalyptic event called the "Calament" over a century ago. Strange beings arrived and sowed havoc and violence across the lands, leaving the dregs of civilization to tremble on the edge of annihilation. But peace was forged between the surviving peoples, all of whom pitched in to rebuild cities, homes, and factories...

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Former Bungie Director Joseph Staten Reveals His Next Studio

Joseph Staten, one the original architects of Halo who came in late in Halo Infinite's development process to help land that very important plane for Microsoft, has joined Netflix as the creative director of Netflix Games. He is building a new AAA multiplatform game and original IP. "In my work life, there's nothing I love more than collaborating with others to build worlds filled with iconic characters, deep mysteries, and endless adventures," Staten told IGN. "So today, I'm thrilled to announce that I've joined Netflix Games as Creative Director for a brand-new AAA multiplatform game and original IP. Let's go!" This comes after Staten first shifted back to the Xbox Publishing role he'd been at prior to joining 343 Industries as...

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Best Cyberpunk 2077 Merch and Gift Ideas for 2023

Since its initial launch, Cyberpunk 2077 has had quite the turnaround. So much so that it actually gave developer CD Projekt Red its second-best revenue year ever in 2022. And with the game’s brand new expansion, Phantom Liberty, on the horizon, the developer is sure to see even more success. Not only because it cost more to make than The Witcher 3's massive Blood and Wine expansion, so surely a lot of love has gone into it, but also because of the addition of exciting new faces as Idris Elba jumps into Night City's action. And with all of that love for Cyberpunk comes a desire to deck out your space with fun merch and collectibles for it, and we’ve got an excellent selection of gift ideas to choose from. No matter if you got hooked...

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Welcome to AI Week @ IGN

While it may seem like all the fuss about artificial intelligence is a recent phenomenon thanks to endless commentary shared daily on social media about ChatGPT and similar chatbots, the concept has been around for nearly 70 years. Originally coined by computer scientist John McCarthy in 1956 during his tenure at MIT, the term has since inspired researchers, scientists, writers, and creators of every kind of entertainment imaginable. The notion of machines being able to “think” goes back even further, with its first appearance in cinema being German director Fritz Lang’s 1927 depiction of a dystopian future in his movie Metropolis. Given its apparent ubiquity in current popular culture, and its longstanding ties to the ways we’ve...

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The Last of Us Part I – PC vs PS5 vs Steam Deck Performance Review

Naughty Dog has finally released The Last of Us Part I onto PC. The launch did not go without a hitch, but is this really as bad of a port as the internet would lead you to believe? Crashing onto PC Context first: the game & engine were designed around the unique architecture of the PlayStation 3, a powerful yet complex piece of hardware with unique requirements. Although it was ported to the PS4, the core engine underneath was a modified version of that same PS3 design, based on mass Asynchronous work. Even Naughty Dog itself had severe issues getting the game to run at 60fps, which required maximizing the CPU and GPU with a triple buffered rendering pipeline, and suffice it to say that porting to PC is an even greater challenge than...

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